In the growth of polycrystalline layers (in particular for epitaxial growth), crystallites having different preferred growth directions and increasing size are typically produced as a function of the grown layer thickness. Thus, the higher the layer is grown, the larger the crystal grain size of the layer becomes.
One disadvantage with such polycrystalline layers is that as a result, they often have high mechanical strain (i.e., a high layer stress), in particular for an increasing or large layer thickness. Such mechanical strain within the layer is disadvantageous in the subsequent processing of the layers. When such layers are, for example, structured in subsequent process steps, the local (mechanical) stress distribution may sometimes vary greatly. For example, unfavorable preliminary deflections may result with processed components if undercut structures such as freely movable MEMS elements are manufactured from the strained layer.